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Stud wall?

I am looking at ordering a new trailer. Reverse slant 3H gooseneck. This particular trailer has an additional gate so there is this little triangle of space in the back. I really like the design, so that horses don’t start trying to walk off as soon as you open doors.

I am considering getting a stud panel, as a divider when I have to haul hay with the horses. I know most people put this up front on the first stall so if they are hauling hay, they can unload first & then go back for the hay & to be able to get at the horses first in case of emergency. This particular trailer is designed as a walk through, & in such a way that all the horses can be gotten to if needed in emergency.

What I would like to get thoughts on is what if I put the stud gate on the third gate, in the back that gates off the end & leaves that little triangle of wasted space? Then I don’t give up a stall to hay if I need to haul all 3 horses. It makes sense to me, but since I have never seen it done, I would like to be sure there is not a reason no one does it. Opinions please.

There are trailers that use that space as tack storage, so you’re not reinventing the wheel :slight_smile: Especially in a walk through, where horses can go off the front, it sounds like a good idea!

Do you load the horses from the front or from the back?

If it’s from the back, the downside to what you’re proposing is that whatever you put there will have to be removed before you can load horses. If that’s okay, it’s a fine plan.

I have a 3-horse regular slant and I had a stud divider put in the between the forwardmost two stalls. Because I’m rarely travelling with more than two horses, I keep my show trunk permanently stashed there and can also safely put hay and shavings. The stall at the back is a large triangle (no rear tack so that the horses can always turn around and walk out) and I do have to be careful when I unload because there’s no gate between the horse and the doors.

It is a walkthrough trailer, so I can load from the side or the rear. One of the lovely things about this trailer is there is a gate between the last horse & the rear door, but it gives me a triangle of wasted space I would like to potentially utilize.

I would go for the stud divider. Mine wasn’t cheap and I’ve had to have it pretty much rebuilt at least once but the convenience far outweighs the cost in my opinion.

but on the last gate, or between the 1st & second stalls?

Tough call! Depends on how much room for storage you want to have accessible the majority of the time. The good news is, neither choice will be an outright mistake because having the stud divider only enhances the divider and doesn’t diminish its primary function.

I’m having trouble imagining this, my slant load didn’t have a gate, just a collapsible rear tack/storage area.

If it’s a full swing partition like the others, can you have them manufacture the gates so that they are interchangeable? (This will take extra attention to detail since the hinge pins will have to be exactly the same height and distance.)

That way you (well, you and a couple of friends…) can put the divider where ever you want it.

I have thought about that, but am concerned that the unused connections will be something a horse could hurt itself on if it scrambles in the trailer. I will have to as the manufacturer.

has anyone got a stud gate they take out that could comment on the safety of the open connectors?

Has anyone ever used those paddy trailer stall dividers? I wonder if that might be a relatively easy solution for me…
are they sturdy enough to help keep stuff in place if they are fastened in the bottom corners?

I have one of those (Paddie) and no, it will not keep stuff where it belongs. It’s just canvas covered foam, it only attaches at the top so if anything slides, it will just push through.

Re: unused connections, I was supposing that you would reverse the first and third gates if/when you needed to. But plenty of people leave one of the slant dividers out when they figure out that a single stall is too small for the big horse they just bought. Generally there are some barrel hinges (just round metal tube) welded to the wall, or maybe a post depending on trailer construction.

The stud divider is attatched w/ barrel hinges like you describe. So you have not had a horse have issues w/ the open tubes on the wall or the bottom of the upper gate when the stud wall is not in place?